Survival Of The Fittest
by Sweet June Rain
Summary: Stephanie and her friends must face challenges to survive in a bleak, new world. It's a Zombie fic baby! OOCs, OCs, AU, It's a Babe! The Summary will be better soon...
1. Chapter 1

(So until I can get all the files from Catman Sr. I will have to began a new story, and there' one genre I've yet to see; Zombies! So I'll break it in! Enjoy!)

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money, it's just for fun!

Warning: violence, gore, Zombie junk, the works, death...zombies, zombies, zombies...

Life After Z

Three years; it's been three long years of eeking out some kind of life. This game of survival was wearing Stephanie Plum down. She wanted her old life back, where there were modern comforts and the like. Stephanie wasn't one for this nomadic lifestyle, she was and will always be a New Jersey girl from the 'Burg.

"What I wouldn't do for a shower," Stephanie muttered softly, looking over at her partner, "a hot one as well, not a cold shower."

Stephanie's partner nodded their head and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know, you'd find the person or group responsible for this epidemic and gut them like a fish, Auntie Stephanie."

"When did you grow up into such a smart butt, Mary Alice?" Stephanie huffed turning away from her niece, "Three years of no school, and you're nothing but a thug."

"No way," Mary Alice said pushing Stephanie, "That would be Lisa, she's the little thug…"

'You're right," Stephanie said, pushing away a broken tree branch, "It's that damn Lester and his influence."

Mary Alice giggled and then said, "We can't go too far, remember what Ranger said, he should still be able to hear us when we go to the bathroom."

"Yeah, yeah," Stephanie said, turning away from Mary Alice to use the restroom, "Just try to keep it down, Mary Alice, those things might be lurking around."

Stephanie crouched down to do her business, her mind on that fateful day; the day that everything changed for them all.

Three Years Ago

Stephanie woke up early, and she woke up without the aid of her alarm clock. It made the hairs on Stephanie's arms rise, she had never woken up early on her own. Stephanie let out a long yawn and slipped out her bed, going into the bathroom to use the restroom and to prepare for the day. She spent an extra five minute under the hot water, to wake her up. Stephanie decided to put her hair up in a ponytail, due to the humid, put some makeup on and then left the bathroom to get dressed. With the rent due in about a week, and with only 20 dollars in the bank, Stephanie knew that she had to go out and catch some skips. Stephanie put on a pair of jeans and a thin red t-shirt. It wasn't even 7 in the morning yet, and the may heat was already making itself known.

Stephanie walked into her small kitchen, grabbed the last pack of Pop tarts and began to make some coffee. Since she was up early, she could have the luxury of eating with her favorite hamster, Rex. She broke off a chunk of Pop tart off and gave it to Rex, before she turned her TV on to watch the news. Stephanie frowned when all she got was the Emergency Broadcast system. She flipped through every channel, and cursed, turning off the TV. The first time in a long time to be awake early enough to catch the news, and they're running stupid tests!

Stephanie fixed herself a cup of coffee, and turned to Rex, "Well, I guess we can talk, right?'

Rex twitched his whiskers and then returned to his soup can, with his meal. Stephanie rolled her eyes and said, "Figures…." Before her phone went off. Stephanie looked down and frowned, "What does Val need now?" before she picked her phone up and said, "Hey Val what's-"

"Stephanie! Oh my god! You have to come quickly, Mom killed Daddy and now she's killing Grandma Mazur!" Val sobbed into Stephanie's phone, "Oh god, there's blood everywhere!"

Stephanie's heart froze and she ran into her bedroom, threw a pair of sneakers on and was racing out her apartment, and over to her POS electric blue Honda civic, "Val, you need to get out the house! Go somewhere safe!"

Stephanie winced when she heard Val scream, "What are you doing, Mom, get off her!" there was a moment of silence and then Val let out a high pitch scream of pain, and then the Phone went dead. By then, Stephanie was halfway to her parents' house, doing 75 in a 25 area. Stephanie jumped as her phone went off again, though this time, it was her batman ringtone, which only meant one thing.

Stephanie grabbed her phone, and answered it with a breathless, "Ranger, I can't talk to you, Val-"

"Where are you?" Ranger asked Stephanie, his voice tight.

"I'm going over to my parent's, Val-"Stephanie started, but Ranger cut her off with, "I'll be there soon." Ending the phone call.

It took Stephanie five minutes to get to her parent's house. She parked behind Val's mini van on the side of the curb. When saw that the front door was wide open, Stephanie felt the hair on her arm rise, What was going on in there? Why weren't the neighbors outside when they heard Val scream? She couldn't just stay in her car, Val could be in danger. Stephanie slid out her car and made her way up the front stairs and through the open door. Everything looked normal at the entrance of the house, so Stephanie walked into the dining room, and nearly let out a gasp at what she saw.

Blood, it was everywhere, on the walls, on the table, the chairs, so much blood. Stephanie covered her mouth to prevent the bile from rising, as she scooped the area. Stephanie nearly walked into the dining room, but two figures hunched in the corner made stop dead. It was her mother and her sister,looming over the body of her father. Stephanie's eyes widen when she saw that her sister and mother were eating at his body, what was this, some kind of sick joke?

Stephanie took a step back, and made to run away, but a soft "Aunt Stephanie!" had her turning back into the narrow hallway to see Mary Alice and Lisa, hiding in the powder room that was situated at the end of the hallway. Oh god, did they get a glimpse of this as well?

Stephanie placed her finger to her lips and turned to go and get the two girls. As she did, her shoulder bumped the wall, hitting a picture frame. The frame fell onto the floor with a soft thump, causing Stephanie's sister and mother to turn to where she stood. Stephanie's stomach recoiled in horror. Her mother and Val didn't look normal, they looked, dead. Their eyes were glazed over and sunken in, their skin was greyed and seemed to be decaying, their lips were black, and they seemed to be moving along with some stiffness. Stephanie took a step back, and let out a shriek as her mother and Val came charging towards her. Stephanie turned and ran down the narrow hallway and into the powder room with Mary Alice and Lisa. She closed and locked the door, before she turned to the two shaken girls and said, "It's going to be alright, okay?" earning two nervous head nods from the children, "Okay, good girls…."

Stephanie turned and went over to the small window that was in the bathroom, Lisa and Mary Alice could fit through it with ease. She pushed it open and said, "I'm going to help you two out of here, run to my car, and get in it. Lock the doors and wait for me, I'll be right behind you."

Mary Alice clambered out of the window first, so she could catch Lisa and lead her to the car. Stephanie herself made it halfway out the window, when the door caved in and her sister and mother came in snarling, groaning and rushing towards her. They would have gotten to her but two gunshots rang out through the house, and both Stephanie's mother and sister fell, their bodies not moving. Stephanie let out a gasp as Ranger walked into the powder room and asked, "Babe, are you alright?"

Stephanie nodded her head, as Ranger pulled her back into the powder room, "I'm good, Ranger….the girls! They're outside, I have to go-"

"It's alright, we have them," Ranger said, leading Stephanie out the powder room and into the hallway, "They're in the SUV right now, are you okay, Babe? You haven't been bitten or anything, right?"

"No," Stephanie said, as Ranger led her out the house and over to the waiting Black Rangeman SUV, "Ranger, What's going on? I'm scared."

"I'll tell you when we get to the safe house," Ranger said as they climbed into the SUV, "For now, I just want us out of Trenton."

Mary Alice and Lisa latched onto Stephanie as the SUV went down the road. Stephanie hadn't had a moment to look at what was going on outside, she had been too busy with trying to get to her parent's. Stephanie could now see that something big had happened, the deeper they got into Trenton. People were running around, cars had been totaled in accidents, some were even on the fire. Stephanie covered the girl's eyes as they passed a group of people, looming over a person, eating at said person.

"Oh god, Angie," Stephanie said suddenly, looking up to Ranger, "I don't know where she is! She wasn't at the house!"

"She's at school," Mary Alice said, looking up at Stephanie, "I didn't have to go to school, I had a doctor's appointment today, I have to get a shot, does this mean I don't have to get a shot?"

"I think so, kiddo," Lester said from the driver seat, "This is a valid reason not to go to the doctor's office."

"Auntie Stephanie, m'scared," Lisa whimpered, burying her head into Stephanie's side, "I want mama…"

"I know, sweetie, I know," Stephanie said, hugging the two children.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Auntie Stephanie!" Mary Alice said, going over to Stephanie, who pulled her pants up, finished with the bathroom, "Are you done, I'm hungry and I bet they've begun to make dinner!"

"Alright, alright," Stephanie said, leading Mary Alice back to where they were camping, "Come on, I'm sure you're excited for MREs and mystery canned food."

"You bet," Mary Alice said, grabbing Stephanie's hand, as they walked out the woods, "It's better than eating deer kidneys."

"True," Stephanie said, as they got closer to the camp site, "Maybe there's something sweet in the supplies we found."

"It'll probably taste icky," Mary Alice said, before she perked up, seeing her sister run towards them, "Lisa!"

"M.A.!" Lisa exclaimed pouncing on her older sister, "You're back, no icky creepers got you!"

"They're not creepers, Lisa," Mary Alice said as the trio made it into the camp, "They're Zombies….get it right!"

"Whatever," Lisa said, sticking her small tongue out at her sister, before rounding on Stephanie, "Auntie Stephanie, can you help me read that book we found, unlike my sister, I like reading."

Stephanie smiled and picked up the six year old, "Sure, we can, come on now, let's go get some food."

"Lester taught me how to hold a handgun properly," Lisa said, as Stephanie led them over to a black SUV, "He says that I have potential, that's a good thing, right?"

"I don't know…." Stephanie sighed, putting Lisa down, "Now scoot, you and Mary Alice go eat, I think Lula is in charge of food rationing tonight."

Lisa and Mary Alice ran off to another black SUV, while Stephanie climbed up on top of the SUV she stood in front of. Ranger was situated on top of it, reading a map, and drawing lines on it to mark their route. Even after three years of living day by day, Ranger was still as handsome as ever, with Mocha colored skin, and soft milk chocolate eyes. He was fitter than ever, having to deal with Zombies, his muscles bulged underneath the shirt he wore. It still made Stephanie's heart flutter when she looked at him.

Ranger's lip curled into a smile and he said, "I'm glad I can still make you swoon, Babe," making Stephanie sputter and whine.

"I didn't say that out loud, did I?!" Stephanie asked, sitting beside Ranger on the roof of the SUV, "What are you doing?"

"You did say that out loud, and for your second question, I'm looking for a way around the city, I don't want us to go through any city or town, we need to be sticking to country roads." Ranger said looking up to Stephanie.

"Do you think it's true?" Stephanie asked, looking up at the darkening sky, "Do you think there's a safe place that's Zombie free?"

"I'm not a wishful kind of guy," Ranger said softly, looking back down at the map, "I don't know, Stephanie, but we won't know until we see for ourselves, right?"

"I just want a place where the girls can have some kind of childhood," Stephanie said looking over to where Mary Alice and Lisa stood, "Running and hiding from creatures that want to eat our flesh gets kind of tiring, right?"

"Yeah," Ranger said folding the map up, "It does, but we have to keep living, so we have to keep running, until we find a safe place."

Ranger pulled Stephanie into a hug and said, "Go get some food, I know you're starving, we're heading out at day break."

"Okay," Stephanie said as Ranger let go of her, "Did you eat?"

"No, but I'll eat something soon," Ranger said with a smile, "Go on and eat…."

Stephanie slid off the roof of the car and made to turn to walk over to where the girl were. Stephanie turned when Ranger said, "Babe, catch."

Stephanie stuck her hands out and caught a packet of Tastykakes. Ranger gave her a smile and said, "Managed to find those at the gas station we were at, they might be a little on stale side, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Stephanie smiled and said, "Right," before she gave Ranger a finger wave and walked over to the girls.

TBC

(So, how this for a start? Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! :T)


	2. Normlacy

Chapter 2, enjoy!

So, there is another zombie fic out there, silly old me...oh well, enjoy!

Warnings and Disclaimer in first chapter

Normalcy

"Well, there's one good thing about the end of the world, I lost weight," Lula commented to Stephanie, "I mean, eating rabbit food and MREs, I was bound to lose some weight!"

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "You're right, Lula, but, I would sell my soul for a Big Mac with a coke,"

"True that," Lula said, before she took a glance at Mary Alice and Lisa, "The girls are handling this pretty well."

"Kids are resilient," Lester said, walking over to Lula and Stephanie, "They're able to handle most extreme changes better than adults. Evolution at play ladies."

Stephanie turned to where Tank and ranger stood huddled around the map, talking in soft voices, "What's going on, Lester?"

"Apparently, the bypass around Pittsburgh has been barricaded, we'll have to go through the city, which poses a threat to all of us."

"Why, because of the zombies?" Lula asked, earning ahead shake from Lester.

"Worse, other people," Lester said grimly, "Zombies we can kill with ease, it's humans we have to be on the look out for."

Other people, the thought of seeing other people had Stephanie's mind reeling. Were there other survivors out there? There had to be, they couldn't be the only survivors. Though, in this dog eat dog world, other people could potentially be a danger to them all.

"Other people could be a danger?" Lula huffed, crossing her arms, "How? I bet they would be happy to see us."

"yeah," Lester said giving Lula a glare, "We have supplies, running cars, and women, in this world, we can't trust anybody. If you want to live, you rely only on yourself and those who are in your group."

"Huh," Lula said, looking away from Lester, "I see your point, but are you sure there are still people in this place? I mean, after three years, there couldn't be any supplies left, right?"

"You'd be surprised," Lester said, before he walked over to where Mary Alice and Lisa were situated, playing in the grass of the rest area they were at.

'He's right," Stephanie said softly, her hand reaching for her holstered gun, "We have children with us, I don't want to risk their lives."

Stephanie walked away from Lula and made her way over to Tank and Ranger, "Can we move the barricades? They can't be that hard to move…."

"Babe, wish it was that easy, it's what behind those barricades that has us worried, Zombies, thousands of them," Ranger said wrapping an arm around Stephanie.

"They must have tried to herd them onto the freeway, trying to purge the city of zombies, but that didn't work out," Tank said, grimly, pointing to the highway sign that was beside the rest area, "See, they've spray painted the skull and bones beside Pittsburgh, which means it's a zombie infested zone."

"And we have to go through it…." Stephanie said softly, earning a head nod, "It shouldn't take us long, right? Maybe an hour?"

"More like a day, we're trying to find the back roads of the city, that way we'll head out west," Ranger said, looking over the map, "We need to find roads least likely used, the main ones will be riddled with traps and zombies."

Stephanie shook her head and tucked it under Ranger's, "I don't want to deal with Zombies….or anything, you think it's going to be better out west?"

"Should be, maybe in the national parks and those least populated areas," Tank said folding the map up, "anything's better than here…."

"We'll head out in the morning, traveling in the city at night is suicide," Ranger told Stephanie, his hand running up and down her back, "Who knows what is out there in those buildings."

"Aunt Stephanie," Lisa squeaked, running over to the three adults and hugging Stephanie's legs, "Lester wants to teach M.A, and I how to use a bow and arrow, can we? I want to learn how to kill a rabbit!"

"Oh goodness," Stephanie sighed, but nodded her head, earning a squeal from the child, "Go on, have fun with Lester."

Lisa ran off to rejoin Lester and Mary Alice, while Stephanie sighed and said, "I just want the girls to have some kind of normal life again, not learning how to hunt down rabbits and zombies, they should be learning to read and write."

"I do too," Ranger said in a tight voice, "Come on, Babe, maybe you should learn how to use a bow and arrow as well."

It had been so long since they've all felt normal, the last sense of normalcy had been in the safe house, after the group fled Trenton.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

The safe house was located up north, in Maine, far away from people. They had traveled on back roads to get to it, by passing cities and towns. It had just been Lester, Ranger Stephanie and the girls. Ranger had called Tank and Tank had told them that he would meet them there soon, He and Lula had problems on one of the roads.

The safe house was a simple cabin, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was all made from thick logs and a stone fireplace dominated one of the walls, though, since it was summer, they wouldn't be using the fireplace. The furniture was rustic, as was the kitchen. It seemed more of a vacation cabin than a safe house.

Lester helped Mary Alice and Lisa out the SUV saying, "Okay, kiddies, we're going to open this cabin up and we'll find you two something sweet to eat."

Stephanie slid out the SUV and over to Ranger who was taking out several black duffel bags, "Ranger, what are we going to do now? I mean, are we going to stay here?"

"We're staying here, until, I get calls from my men, and then they'll come and then we'll make plans." Ranger said leading Stephanie to the cabin, "Come on, I know you're hungry, let's go sate the beast."

It had been a hellish first week. It took the children a while for the idea that they would never see their sister or mother again. Before they left New Jersey, Ranger had asked Stephanie if they should return to the city, to see if Angie somehow survived the original zombie attack. Stephanie had wanted to go back, to find her other niece, but the thought of putting the Lisa and Mary Alice back in harm's way had Stephanie shaking her head. She said a little prayer, and told Ranger to continue to the safe house. That first week, Ranger stayed closed to the radio, listening to some of the military channels that he picked up. The military radio channels seemed to be spoken in code; a code that only Lester and Ranger knew. The two would sit up late at night, making plans and mostly keeping a lookout for Zombies. They were deep enough in the woods, the zombies wouldn't really come deep into the woods to look for them, right?

One good thing about the Cabin as that it had its own water reservoir, and a gas generator. They could still have electricity for a bit. The one thing that had Stephanie worried was the fact that the girls didn't have clothes, they hadn't had time to pack anything. Ranger had reassured her that once Tank got to the cabin, they would go out and get clothes for them all.

It was tough on the girls. Lisa kept close to Stephanie and Mary Alice, never leaving their side for anything. She cried at night for her mother and father, and hardly played with her sister when they were outside. Mary Alice fared better, she only asked if they were ever going back to Trenton, and one she got her answer, seemed to take in it with stride. With no electronics, the girls spent time outside, with Lester, watching him practice with knives, and guns. Stephanie didn't want them to start slacking on their education, so she took some time out of their day to teach them a few things she could remember.

Tank arrived at the safe house a week later, with only Lula. When Ranger asked Tank about the other Rangemen, Tank shook his head and told him that he lost contact with them all after the second day. It made Stephanie's throat close up with unshed tears. She'd never see her friends again. Those men had been there with her and for her. It was just Tank, Lester and Ranger now, in this bleak world.

Poor Lula, she had hugged Stephanie tightly and wailed about how she went to the bonds office that morning and found Vinnie over Connie, eating at her body.

"Thank god Tankie came, cuz Vinnie turned to me and came charging at me," Lula sobbed, wiping her nose, "He shot him dead, and then told me we had to leave."

"It's okay now, Lula, you're here and you have me and 'Tankie,'" Stephanie said, earning giggles from the girls, "We're safe here."

"But for how long?" Lula asked, earning looks from everyone.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

The group stayed at the safe for nearly 2 years before they were forced to leave, due to the zombies, they hardly made it out at all. The night they fled their safe house, was the last night of normalcy for them all.

"You're a natural, kiddo," Lester praised Lisa as she held the bow up, "I think I can make you a smaller bow, but for now, you handle the adult one like a pro."

Lisa beamed up at Lester and said, "Thank you, Lester, can I try to kill a rabbit? I bet if I do it right, we could eat it for dinner tonight!"

"Alright, but don't go too far, stay close to where we can see you," Lester said, watching Lisa skip off to the tall grass.

"I'll go watch her," Lula said, before she followed behind the child, "Them creepers could be in there."

"I'd rather use a gun," Mary Alice said, pulling out the hand gun that Ranger had given her, "I don't have to worry about bows, and if I aim for the head, those zombies won't be getting up again."

"True, but you can't hunt for food with a gun, one shot and you'll scare off the animals," Ranger said to Mary Alice, who pouted but nodded her head, "Plus, if you don't have a sniper rifle, the bow is a great weapon to kill people for a far."

Mary Alice held the bow up and took aim at the glass bottle that was up on a fence, "Do you think we'll have to kill people too, Ranger?"

"I hope not," Ranger said, helping Mary Alice with her stance, "But, if they try to harm you, your sister, your aunt or Lula, I'll kill them."

"No worries, Ranger," Mary Alice said, letting go of the bow string, making the arrow fly and hit the glass bottle, "I'll kill them myself."

"Good girl," Ranger said with a smile, ruffling Mary Alice's hair.

"Don't praise her for that," Stephanie said, glaring at Ranger as he came over to her, "She shouldn't want to kill anyone."

"It's a harsh world, Babe," Ranger said, hugging Stephanie, "And I want to make sure that you all are protected, and can protect yourselves."

Stephanie sighed and said, "Damn it, I hate when you're right, well, where's my bow, I need to learn how to use one too, right?"

"BULL'S EYE!" Lisa yipped, running out the grass with Lula, "I killed a rabbit! And it's a big one too!"

Lula nodded her head and said, "Now, who's going to clean it?"

"I am!" Lisa said, skipping through the grass, "Come on, let' go show the group!"

Lula grabbed Lisa's hand and began to lead her back to the group, but loud rustling had her stopping. She turned to Lisa and said in a soft voice,"Shh, there's-"

She didn't finish her sentence, because a zombie appeared in front of them, snarling and moving towards them blindly, the tall grass didn't slow it down. Lisa let out a scream, while Lula jerked her into a run, heading back to the rest area. They came barreling out the grass, and over to the rest of the group, the zombie still following them.

"Zombie!" Lisa screamed, running over to Lester, her hands still clutching her kill and the bow.

Lester took out his gun and fired once, hitting the zombie in the middle of its forehead, and stopping it in its tracks. Stephanie was beside Lisa in an instant, checking her over.

"No bites?" she asked, earning a small head shake, "Good, and you bought dinner, good girl."

"I'm going to clean it, okay," Lisa said, making her way to a picnic table.

"That fucking creeper was hiding in the damn grass, like a fucking ninja!" Lula huffed, sitting down, "I ain't never going back into grass that's taller than my waist."

Tank ran his hands up and down Lula's back and said, "It's alright baby,I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

"Good, cuz, ain't nobody got time for them damn zombies," Lula huffed, earning a chuckle from Tank.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Fuck," Jeanne Ellen Borrows sighed, looking over the barricade, her eyes landing on several thousand zombies, "Fuck, we can't get past this, those fucking idiots corralled the zombies on the fucking freeway…"

Jeanne's companion let out a sound, their hand reaching for the sword that rested on their back. They walked over to Jeanne and said with an amused voice, "Well then, we just kill our way through them, right?"

"Go on ahead, I know how much you love killing zombies," Jeanne said, watching as her friend jumped over the tall barricade, "Well…"

Jeanne winced watching as the blade of the sword glinted in the dying sunlight. Her friend was a pro at killing zombies, they could use any weapon, but preferred a sword, it made a lot less noise. Decaying body parts flew through the air, heads, torsos, arms, legs. Moments later, Jeanne's friend was jumping back over the tall barricade saying, "Too many of them, Jeanne, go use the damn flame thrower."

"With pleasure!" Jeanne said, running to go get her favorite toy, a flame thrower she found in an old military base, "We should be on the other side of this barricaded area soon!"

"We don't have much time," Jeanne's friend said, cleaning their sword, "I want to make it past Pittsburgh before sunrise, I want to be in Washington as soon as possible."

"Aye, Aye, Captain," Jeanne said, before she turned the flame thrower on, "I love the smell of cooked decaying flesh in the morning…."

As Jeanne torched several zombies, her friend leaned against the concrete railing, looking over to the abandoned city. If they couldn't kill all these zombies, they would be force to go through that maze of a city, and they already knew what awaited them inside of it; renegade gangs, zombies and humans who gained a taste for human flesh.

"You better kill them all, Jeanne," The person said, "Because cities now a days spell nothing but trouble."

Nothing but trouble indeed...

TBC….

(Some more players...Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!)


	3. The City Is A Killer

Chapter 3 is here and it's super long, ten pages. Enjoy Ladies and Gent! Yeah, this is unbetaed...mkay!

Warnings and Disclaimers in chapter 1

Chapter 3

The City Is A Killer

Jeanne let out a curse as an explosion rocked the road that she and her friend were walking on. Said friend turned their head to watch as a huge smoke plume filled the western area of Pittsburgh. They inclined their head to Jeanne and said, "I feel as though it's our duty to go help out whoever the hell that was."

"No way, we're almost to the end of this godforsaken city!" Jeanne snapped, lifting her pack up, "we lost our car, thanks to those damn trap, and I for one don't want to be in city any longer!"

"Understandable, but, I am going to check it out, you stay put here, heaven knows that the damn explosion has attracted hordes of zombies, they'll be coming this way too…" Jeanne's friend said, before they were off, running to the west side of the city.

Jeanne let out a huff, before she was off as well, following behind her friend, "Wait up! I don't want to be left behind you fool!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Why do I get the feeling we've been going in circles?" Stephanie asked Ranger softly, earning a hard look, "Well, I mean, we've been past this same building twice!"

Ranger nodded his head and then said, in a low voice, "I know, Stephanie, it's a trap, and we've fallen for it."

Ranger had been a bit angry for falling into the trap, but all the back roads had been barricaded, leaving only the main roads for them to travel on. He sent a message to Lester and Tank to be on the lookout, that there would be company soon. If he could, he'd find the ones responsible for barricading the god damn bypass for zombies and kill them, though, they might be long dead.

"Should we get out and walk the rest of the way out the city?" Stephanie asked softly, turning to look at Mary Alice and Lisa, "I mean, are we like fish in the barrel?"

"I hope not," Ranger confessed, before he turned again, "If we go around again, we're getting out and moving a barricade, that'll get us out of this area."

Stephanie looked down at the map, and then said, "if you keep going up this street a quarter mile, then there should be a back alley, we could use the alley."

Ranger turned to Stephanie and said, "Sounds like a plan," before he turned to look back at the road, and slammed on the brakes, so he wouldn't hit the figure that stood in the middle of it. Stephanie let out a gasp and whispered, "Ranger, it's a child….."

Indeed, the figure was a child, maybe around Lisa's age. They were on the skinny side, with pale skin that was covered in dirt. The child had long black hair that was up in a single braid. They wore an oversized t-shirt with a pair of shorts that were two times the child's size and the whole outfit was finished with a pair of tattered black sandals.

Lisa looked up to Ranger and asked, "Ranger, why are they out in the middle of the street, they could get hit!"

"No they wouldn't," Mary Alice snapped, crossing her arms, "We're the only cars in the whole damn city."

"Mary Alice, Language," Stephanie said, before she turned to Ranger, "Ranger, is this a trap?"

Ranger, shifted the black SUV into reverse, which caused Tank to the reverse the other SUV. The two cars had only began to back down the street, when shots rang out, and the SUV began to tilt, having had one of the tires flatten.

Ranger swore loudly as people began to rush out of the abandoned buildings, fuck they had been watching them this whole time! Stephanie reached for her holstered gun, but the window on her side was shattered when something blunt hit it. Mary Alice and Lisa began to scream as their windows were shattered and hands reached in to unlock their doors.

"No, let me go you jerks!" Lisa screamed as hands pulled her out the SUV, "Auntie Stephanie, M.A.! Help me!"

"Let go of my sisters, you bastards!" Mary Alice shrieked, grabbing for Lisa, only to scream as hands grabbed her and hauled her out the SUV, "Auntie Stephanie!"

"Let go of them!" Stephanie yelled, climbing out the SUV to get to her nieces, "Leave them alone!"

Stephanie screamed as hands grabbed her. She watched as everyone else was pulled out the SUVs, and one by one, they were all subdued, until it was Stephanie's turn. She heard the high pitch buzz from a Taser and let out a yelp as she was shocked, her vision blackening.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Let me go!" Lisa cried, struggling in her captor's arms, "Lemme go, you jerks!"

Mary Alice turned to her sister and snapped, "Stop it, Lisa, be quiet! You're only making them madder!"

After the initial ambush, everyone but Mary Alice and Lisa had been shocked by the Taser and tied up, before being thrown into the back of a truck. The two children had been forced into another car, their captors still holding on tight to them. They were going into the heart of the city, into places that were infested with zombies.

Mary Alice looked over to her sister and then said, "Hush Lisa," watching as her younger sister began to cry loudly, asking for Ranger, Stephanie, Lester, Lula, anyone but her captors.

"Shut the kid up!" Someone snapped, giving Lisa a dirty look, "Use the Taser on her."

"Don't you dare!" Mary Alice screeched, before she used the back of head and head-butted the person who held her, "LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARDS!"

The man holding her groaned in agony, letting go of her, giving Mary Alice the chance to grab the person who was driving the car, causing them to swerve on the cracked road. She kicked and screamed, causing all kinds of mayhem in the car. She managed to grab the steering wheel and turn it sharply, causing the car to crash into a wrecked truck. The jolt of the crash had everyone jerking. Mary Alice kicked the person who held her sister in the face and opened the door screaming, "Lisa! Get out of here! Hurry!"

Lisa didn't need to be told twice and shimmed out of the car, before taking off into an alleyway. Mary Alice made to follow her, but a hand grabbed her leg and pulled her back into the car. She struggled and screamed until finally one of her captors used the Taser on her, effectively knocking her out.

"What about the littlest one?" one of the captors asked, watching Lisa scurry into the Alley.

"Forget her, she'll be eaten up by those fucking zombies." The driver growled, turning to Mary Alice's prone form, "Fucking feisty for a kid, tie her up, we need to hurry up and get them back to base, so the Boss can deal with them."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a moan of pain, as she came to. The first thing she knew was that she was bound to a chair, the coarse ropes digging into her skin. The second thing she knew was that she wasn't alone in the room. She opened her eyes and focused them with several blinks. She was in a windowless room, with Ranger, Lester, Tank and Lula. Where were the children?! Where were her nieces?!

"Three men, two women, and a child, a girl," A voice said, causing Stephanie's head to turn, her eyes landing on a man sitting close to the door, "the women we could use, the child should be entering puberty soon, we could use her then, but the men, we don't need men…."

"Mary Alice…." Stephanie groaned, straining against the ropes, "Lisa, where are….they….."

"Ah, looks like one of them is awake," The man said, getting up and walking over to Stephanie, lifting her head up by her hair, "My, aren't you a cutie…."

'Let go of me," Stephanie said softly, earning a head jerk, "Where are my nieces…."

"Nieces, why there's only one child with you, my men lost one, while the older one caused them to crash the car, feisty little thing, she's up now, but we had to separate her, she bit off one of my men's ear."

"Good," Stephanie sneered at the man before her, earning a slap to her face.

"I see where she gets it from," The man said, before letting go of Stephanie's hair, "Now, your little friends should be waking up soon, and I'll tell you all your fates, and boy, are they good."

In the dim lighting, Stephanie took a good look at the man in front of her. He could have been called handsome, though the hardships of life must have worn him down, he looked like he was 50, with grey hair and hard green eyes. He wore a pair of jeans and a black shirt, with cowboy boots. Now that he wan man handling her, she could see the guns that he had tucked in his jeans.

"Come on now, everyone, time to wake up!" the man said, smacking his captive's faces, "this is fun part, and you can't sleep through it!"

There were groans and moans, before everyone was fully awake. Stephanie turned to Ranger and said, "Ranger, Lisa's gone, and she's in the city!"

"When we get out of this place, we'll go find her, Lisa is a smart cookie, she'll be hidden away," Lester said, as he strained against his bonds, "you ought to untie us and fight us like a real man, huh?!"

"Stand down Santos," Tank said, glaring at Lester, who deflated, "we're surrounded and we don't have weapons."

"Military men, I see," The man said, looking at them all, "Damn, we especially hate those kind of people, they're the ones who tried to drive the zombies out the city, but it didn't work, lost a lot of innocent people. That containment plan was shit."

"We had no part in that plan," Ranger started but was cut short by the butt of a gun hitting his face, earning a cry from Stephanie.

"Fucking liar, it's the government's fault you know, for all of this, it's always the government's fault," the man raged, looking at Ranger, who spat out a mouthful of blood, "Did it hurt? Good, I hope it did, I was going to have mercy on you men, but not anymore, the women we'll keep, they have their uses…."

"I ain't going to be no toy for a bastard-" Lula started, but Tank shushed her up sharply.

"And you three, I was going to shoot up between the eyes, yeah, but now, I've a better idea, I'm going to feed you to those fucking zombie, the ones you tried so hard to contain!'

Stephanie's eyes widened and she said, "You're mad! Just let us go, we didn't do anything to you, let us go damn it!"

"We'll be back for you soon, enjoy your last few moments of life, men, better make them count," The man said, before he left the room, slamming the door shut and locking it.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"So this is what caused the explosion," Jeanne said, walking up to the smoldering remains of two SUVs, "Shit they must have taken all the supplies from the trucks, and torched them…."

"And took the occupants too," Jeanne's friend said, picking up the burnt remains of a child's jacket, "There were children in these cars, but there are no bodies, they must have taken them to their base."

Jeanne sighed and said, "Thank the stars we fell for the abandoned trap, our asses would be grass by-"

A high pitch scream filled the area, making Jeanne and her friend turn. Jeanne's friend turned to a barricaded road and said, "It came from over there, come on, it looks like they've just moved this barricade."

Jeanne raced after her friend, hoping that whoever made that cream was still alive.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Lisa had tired to follow the car and truck that had her sister and aunt, but then they went into an area she couldn't reach. When she couldn't follow them, she tried to make her way back to the SUVs, hoping that they would still be there. Instead of finding the SUV, she found zombies, dozens of them, in an alleyway. She had fled, of course, but those zombies were fast, her little feet could only go so fast. She ended up hiding in a car locking all the doors and hoping that the zombies wouldn't make their way into the car. The zombies were now trying to force their way into the car, and the window were about to give way.

Lisa let out a scream, and covered her ears, crying loudly, she wanted her Aunt, she wanted her sister, and she wanted Lester. She was going to die, and they would never see her again!

Lisa screamed as the windows gave way, shatter around her, she kicked at the decaying limbs that reached out for her, she may die, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She hated the stench that the zombies gave off, they smelt like road kill.

Lisa screamed as a hand grabbed her leg, and began to pull her to the window, but a flash of something metal caught Lisa's eye and then the grip on her leg went slack, and she watched as the zombie's hand was cut clean off the zombie's body. Lisa watched with wide eyes as the zombies fell, one by one, their heads flying all around the car.

"Hey kid, are you alright?" A woman's voice asked, causing Lisa to look out and to see a blond woman looking inside the car with bright green eyes, "You weren't bitten or anything, right?"

Lisa shook her head, before she launched herself at the woman, hugging her and crying about how these bad men ambushed them all and how her friends and family were going to die because of the bad men. The woman sputtered and tried to console Lisa, but Lisa continued crying until a firm hand to her back had her stopping.

"Now, stop your crying, if you continue to cry, we can't save your friends," The person with the firm hand said, earning a head nod from Lisa, "Now, can you lead us back to where they took your family?"

Lisa nodded her head and said, "It looks like an old warehouse, please hurry, They have Auntie Stephanie, M.A. and Ranger!"

The blond woman looked over to her friend and echoed, "Ranger?! No way….that could be anyone…..well kid, come on…let's go save your group."

The blond woman picked Lisa up and the three began to the short trek to where the people were holding Lisa's group. Lisa took a good look at the blond woman's friend. The person was a woman, a beautiful woman with long black hair that was up in a single braid. She had skin the color of milk chocolate and dark amber eyes. She was short, if the woman stood by her Aunt Stephanie, she'd barely reach her neck. She wore a pair of blue jeans, a white tank top and a long sleeve blue flannel shirt that was four times her small size. The only weapons the woman had was a sword strapped to her back and what appeared to be a boomerang.

Lisa looked up at the woman who was carrying her and took a good look at her as well. She had short blond hair, bright green eyes and soft pale skin. Unlike her friend, she was tall, maybe six feet tall. She wore a pair of black pants, and a black tank top. She had several guns attached to her body, and along with the guns, there was a large pack perched on her back.

"You're lucky kid," The blond woman said, as they got closer to the warehouse, "If It wasn't for the fact that we couldn't get past those damn zombies on the bypass, we would be long gone by now."

"Don't tell her that, Jeanne," The other woman said softly, before she stopped and said, "Jeanne, we can't go any further, they have snipers posted at the top of every building surrounding the warehouse."

"We'll be killed on the spot," Jeanne cursed, before she turned to her friend and said, "Sweetness, how are we going to do this?"

"I say…" Jeanne's friend started, looking around, "We give them a distraction, a living dead distraction…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Aunt Stephanie," Mary Alice sobbed, hugging Stephanie, "I thought you were dead!"

"You have blood on you, is it yours?" Stephanie asked hugging Mary Alice tightly, "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but I hurt them, bit the ear off of one of those bastards," Mary Alice said with a smile, before it faltered, "Lisa' gone, she managed to escape, but in this city, she could be dead by now, I should have never told her to escape!"

"Lisa is smart and small, she can hide in places where those fucking creepers can't get to her." Lula said, hugging Mary Alice, "For now, we have to worry about us."

"Where's Ranger, Lester and Tank?" Mary Alice asked, looking over Lula and Stephanie's shoulder at the door, "Aren't they going to put us together?"

The three jumped as the door to Mary Alice's jail opened and the man that had manhandled Stephanie walked in, giving them all feral looks. Stephanie placed Mary Alice behind her and asked, "Where are the men at?!"

"Getting ready to die, we just needed to come and get you ladies, after they're dead, you all will have to start pulling your weight around here, the little lady is a little young, but that means you both have to do double time for her."

"What does he mean, Aunt Stephanie?" Mary Alice asked softly, causing Stephanie to press her against her.

"We'll see," Lula said as the men grabbed them, leading them out the cell and into the dimly lit hallway.

They walked a little ways before climbing up a set of stairs that led to the catwalk of the main floor of the warehouse. Stephanie's heart leapt to her throat, seeing Ranger, Lester and Tank, on the main floor. There was no one else down there, seeing as everyone else was up on the catwalk, looking down and leering at the men. Two men stood next to a chain and pulley system, which would open the main doors of the warehouse, letting in the zombies.

"Now, my dears," The man said, giving Stephanie and Lula looks, "the fun can begin, you all can watch as the men die such a horrible death."

"Ranger!" Stephanie yelped, trying to reach the railings of the catwalk, only to be forced back by a group of men, "Let him go! Please! We'll do what you want, just let them live!"

"We don't let the government pigs live!" a voice shouted in the crowd, "Kill the pigs!"

"No! Please, let them go!" Mary Alice begged, watching as the metal doors were slid open, to reveal six zombies, dragging their broken legs into the main floor of the warehouse, "NO! let them go you bastards!"

Though they were injured, the Zombies moved quick, which had the three men dodging and running away from them. There was nothing that they could use as a weapon, the people who held them captive made sure of that. The extra doors were boarded up shut, and all loose items were gone. The ony thing that remained were the metal stills holding up the catwalks, and the old blood that smeared the walls from other people who died from being eaten by zombies.

Ranger let out a curse as he kicked away a zombie, they were not going to last long, at this rate. Ranger turned his head sharply, hearing Lester say, "Ranger! Look up!"

Ranger looked up at the catwalk, and paused, seeing one of the metal bars that was used for the railing hanging off. It was obviously broken, if only they could get it. Ranger turned to see Mary Alice struggling in the grip of one of her captors, "Mary Alice, over there, get that bar for us!"

Mary Alice looked down at Ranger, and then over to where he was pointing to. She was right beside it! If she could just reach it! Mary Alice let out a growl and bit the man holding her, causing him to yelp and let go of her. Mary Alice slipped over to the broken bar, and with her foot, kicked it off the rest of the way, causing the heavy metal bar to fall down onto the floor below them with a loud clang. Tank grabbed the fallen bar, and when a zombie came charging up to him, he swung with all his might, hitting the zombie in the head, smashing it in.

"You little bitch!" Mary Alice's captor growled, grabbing the girl and with ease, tossing her over the catwalk, making her fall onto the floor below.

"MARY ALICE!" Stephanie screamed, watching with horror as her niece fell with a loud scream, landing with a thud on the floor, her small frame not moving, "NO!"

Mary Alice let out a moan, lifting her head up and screaming as a pair of zombies came charging after her. Ranger, Lester and Tank wouldn't make it to her in time, she would be eaten up! Mary Alice closed her eyes, expecting her fate, but two gunshots rang out and the zombies fell down, dead. Mary Alice opened her eyes, and watched as the rest of the zombies that hadn't been killed by Tank were killed by a phantom gun.

Everyone was silent, looking around and trying to figure who killed the zombies. They didn't have to wait for the person for long, because, two figures jumped down from the rafters, landing on the catwalk. Lester let out a whistle and said, "Well, I'll be damned is that Borrows!?"

"Well I'll be damned, it's the same Ranger and his merry band of fools," Jeanne sighed, before pulling Lisa off her back, "Pardon us, kid, but we have to beat the bad guys."

"Auntie Stephanie!" Lisa said, running over and hugging the surprised woman, "you're still alive!"

"Kill these bitches!" The man in charge roared, pointing to Jeanne and her friend, who took out her sword, "Kill them all!"

Jeanne's friend didn't hesitate, she moved swiftly, barely moving her blade to slash open the men who tried to shoot at her. She moved with ease, dodging flying bullets and baseball bats. Jeanne herself took out her guns and began shooting at the people who scrambled to get weapons. She turned to Stephanie and Lula and said, "You need to get down there, and find a way out, we may have let in a dozens of zombies, purely on accident, by the way….."

"You what?!" Stephanie asked, giving Jeanne the stink eye, "Are you trying to kill us all?!"

"We had to get in somehow," Jeanne said, shooting a person, "Shit, come on Plum, get your butt in gear and get these girls out of here!"

Jeanne gave Stephanie a coil of rope, before she joined her friend in killing people. Stephanie turned to Lisa and Lula and said, "Okay, let's climb down," before she tied one end of the rope to the railing, "We have to hurry!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Okay, maybe blowing up the front entrance of the base, and letting in hundreds of zombies hadn't been one of the best plans they could have come up with, in fact, it was downright dangerous. Jeanne's friend had been thinking on her feet, and made a lot of noise, attracting several zombies, and the like. She then told Jeanne to get the rocket launcher and blow up the entrance. Lisa had been excited to see the rocket launcher and made a loud noise when it went off.

Not one of their greatest ideas, Jeanne will be the first to admit that one. They went storming in, guns a blazing and hundreds of zombies chasing after them and anyone else with a pulse. They had to climb up into the rafters to prevent themselves from being eaten. They traveled through the rafters and over to where all the noise was coming from. As it turned out, it was the main floor of the warehouse, and there in the middle of the damn floor was-

"Fuck, it's Manoso," Jeanne hissed, watching the three men fight zombies, "And they're going to get eaten!"

"Well, the child that those men just threw off the catwalk is going to get eaten first," Jeanne's friend said, pulling out a pistol from Jeanne's pocket, "We can't have that now, can we…."

"No way they can't eat my sister," Lisa hissed from her perch on Jeanne's back, "Kill 'em!"

Jeanne's friend fired four shots, killing the zombies that tried to eat the child, and then the other zombies that the men didn't kill themselves.. The two then jumped down the rafters and onto the catwalk, where Jeanne's friend took out her favorite weapon and went to town on the group, killing everyone. Jeanne had given some rope to Stephanie and told her to find a way out, before the zombies came and got them all. Jeanne and her friend would follow behind, once they were all out of the main floor of the warehouse.

"Come on now!" Jeanne snapped to her friend, watching her kill the last person, "Those fucking zombies are coming and we need to split!"

Jeanne's friend raced back to her and together, the two jumped down onto the main floor, taking the same route that Stephanie and the others took.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I'm fine," Mary Alice said with a smile, as Stephanie checked her over for injuries, "I was just jolted around a bit."

"I don't care if you're fine, I'm not fine," Stephanie said, before she hugged Mary Alice, "Thank goodness Jeanne and her friend popped up, or else we would all be dead."

Stephanie turned to where Jeanne and Ranger stood. They were talking in hushed voices to Jeanne's companion. They had managed to escape the heart of the city, and were now in the outskirts, looking for a working vehicle that they could drive out of the city. By the sounds of the conversation, Ranger, Lester and Tank wanted Jeanne and her friend to join them, by the sounds of it, Jeanne wanted to accept the offer, but her friend wasn't budging.

"No," Jeanne's friend said, shaking her head, and looking over to the men, "We can't join, we have to get to D.C.."

"You can't get into D.C.," Tank told the woman softly, his eye hard, "They bombed it a week after the zombie outbreak, it's been flatten to oblivion."

The woman turned her head and then said to Jeanne, "Where would they go, then?! Where?!"

"The mountains, or someplace cold," Jeanne said to her friend, wrapping her arms around the small woman, "Look, we'll join Ranger and his ragtag group, go out west and hopefully find what we're looking for."

The woman sighed and then said, nodding her head, "Fine, we'll join them, but once we find what we're looking for, we're splitting up."

Jeanne nodded her head and then said to Ranger, "We'll join you guys on your little Oregon Trail thing, but then-"

"OH BOY!" Lisa squealed, hugging Jeanne, "I'm glad you two are coming with us, you both are so strong, those creepers aren't going to mess with us now!"

Lisa let go of Jeanne and turned to the smaller woman, "I like how you know how to use a sword, can you teach me how to use one?"

The woman blinked, before she smiled and said, "Of course, you're not a real woman without one," placing a hand on Lisa's head, earning a smile.

"What's your name, you never did tell me your name!" Lisa said, hugging the woman tightly, "I can't call you lady all the time!"

"My name is Heidi," the woman said before she turned to the group, "We should really get going, if we're to find a working car and leave this place."

Stephanie walked over to Ranger and asked, "Are you sure we can trust Jeanne and Heidi? I mean, they're quite powerful…."

"I'd rather have them with us, than against us, we'll be fine with them," Ranger said grabbing Stephanie's hand, "Come on Babe."

"We'll have to go supply hunting now," Lester said walking up to Jeanne and Heidi, "We might be able to find a gun shop around here, and maybe a store as well."

"We might," Jeanne said, giving Lester a smile, "I could use something to eat…."

"I could go for a burger!" Mary Alice said, from her perch on Lester's back, "We French fries!"

"Me too, and Ice cream!" Lisa said, grabbing Lester's hand, "We should find a McDonalds!"

"ya'll need to stop talking about food, you're making me hungry!" Lula said, walking ahead of the group, "Besides, why McDonalds, I was thinking maybe like a five star restaurant!

"Children, they're all children," Ranger mused, earning a giggle from Stephanie, "Let's just hurry up and get the hell out of this place…."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Shit, like I know where they are now," A man said from his perch in a jail cell, "After all, you're the jackass that tried to kill us…."

'I wasn't trying to kill your friend, I was trying to kill you," a rough voice said, earning a look from the man in the jail cell, "But, this works in my favor, seeing as your friend will move heaven and hell to get to you."

"yeah, that's the problem," The blond man said, leaning back against the wall of the cell, his blue eyes closed in thought, "Though, I'm sure my friend will have no problems killing you."

"We'll see," The man's voice said, fading away as he walked away from the cell, "We'll see….."

The man in the cell opened his blue eyes and sighed, "If you know what's good for you, you better not come and get me...you damn fool."

TBC…

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!)


	4. Project Eve

Chapter 4! Enjoy!

Warnings and Disclaimer in chapter 1

Warning: Smut nothing big...yet

Project EVE

"I feel almost normal now," Stephanie commented as she tossed her now empty can away from the group, "Now that we're out of the city, and we've all eaten."

"Mhmm," Lula said, leaning against Tank's shoulder, "Though normal for me would be a meatball sub and a Pino's pizza."

"With some ice cream and cookies," Mary Alice said, letting out a yawn and closing her eyes, "I miss my old life."

"Don't we all," Lester sighed, shifting a sleeping Lisa in his arms, "I miss going out at night, and picking up women. The only women I attract now are undead and want me for my brains….to eat."

"You should be happy, Santos," Tank said, punching Lester's arm, "You still attract women!"

The group laughed loudly, much to the embarrassment of Lester, who sputtered loudly and turned away from them all. Jeanne rolled her eyes, watching the group around the fire. They had chosen to camp out in a field, eating what they found in a small mom and pop store. It was well into the night, maybe midnight. It took them a whole day to get out of Pittsburgh, though, this time, they stuck with the outside area of the city.

Jeanne turned to Heidi and said, "Can you hear those fools, jeez, I swear….Hey, are you listening to me?"

"I am," Heidi said, turning to look at Jeanne, her fingers playing with the frayed ends of the flannel shirt she wore, "It's just….I hope they're not hurting, or dead, they wouldn't kill them, would they?"

"Not if they want you," Jeanne said, watching Heidi slid down the top of the car, "Where you going?"

"I'm just going to lay down in the car, I'm a bit tired, you know, saving people and all from gangs and zombies," Heidi said, before she slid into the back of the car.

Jeanne let out a huff and said in a low voice, "I hate when you get like this, woman," before she jumped off the roof of the car and walked over to the group that surrounded the bonfire, "Oi, where's Manoso?!"

"He' out doing sentry duty," Lester said, seeing a black figure lurk around, "He won't come back until he thinks we're safe enough."

"Hmm, you should go join him, Plum," Jeanne said, lifting Mary Alice up in her arms, said girl fast asleep, "I'll get this one settled in and then I'll come relieve you two of your post."

"Sounds like a good idea, Gina," Lester said, earning a glare from Jeanne, "I'll put Lisa to bed and then join you."

Stephanie got up from the bonfire and made her way to Ranger, who stood still, looking up at the night sky. Stephanie placed a gentle hand on his shoulders and asked, "What's on your mind Ranger?"

Ranger turned to Stephanie and said in a low voice, "Julie , when we almost lost your nieces, they made me think of my child. I just hope she's not one of those….zombies."

Ranger scooped Stephanie into his arms and whispered, "I just hope she died instantly, and without pain."

Stephanie gripped Ranger's shoulders, nuzzling the man's neck. She couldn't understand what Ranger was going through now, she didn't have a child to lose. She had met Julie on several occasions and loved the child. Stephanie hoped what Ranger just spoke, that she died instantly and wasn't prowling the earth as a zombie. It hit Stephanie like a ton of bricks; Ranger had lost his child, almost all of his friends, he was suffering too, but he choose to keep quiet about his suffering.

"It's alright, Ranger," Stephanie whispered, looking up at the man, "It's alright, we'll live on for Julie and for everyone else we lost."

Ranger nodded his head, before he tucked a strand of hair behind Stephanie's ear, his hand cupping her cheek, "Exactly, we'll live on for them."

"I hope you two aren't having a lovey dovey moment and junk," Jeanne said walking up to the couple, a shot gun swinging in her hand, "Go on to bed, Santos and I are going to be on watch."

"Shut up, Jeanne," Stephanie said softly, but she grabbed Ranger's hand, "We were just having a private moment."

"Yeah yeah," Jeanne said watching the two walk back to the camp, "Come on, Santos, let's watch out for zombies."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

The man inside the jail cell let out a loud yawn, watching as a person walked up to his cell, holding a silver tray, "Oh ho, you're feeding me now? Shucks, I'll miss the other person, she was such eye candy…"

"Shut up scum," The person on the other side of the jail cell growled, tossing the tray into the cell, "You're lucky you're being fed at all, if you weren't so damn valuable…"

"Mhmm," the man said pulling the tray close to him, "Yes, yes, so you say, now, do you have any salt and ketchup? Slop ain't good without it."

The person on the other side sneered and said, "I would watch your mouth, unmentionable, you're treading on thin ice, once the boss finds out you're useless, he's going to feed you to the zombies."

"I'm not that useless," The man said, eating his meal, "I mean, I'll have you know, that I can bench press 400 pounds and tie cherry stems into knots with my tongue."

"You vile piece of-" The person started but the man in the cell stopped him.

"No, no, Morelli you're the piece of shit, I mean, selling yourself to the devil for what? A cushy job serving me three square meals a day? Yeah, yeah, I bet you're just all fuzzy inside, knowing it was you who aided in the zombie outbreak, come back to me when you can clarify who the real piece of shit is!"

Joe Morelli gave the man in the jail cell a look, before he turned and walked out the jail area. The man in the cell snorted and said, "Piece of shit, didn't give me my damn ketchup."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Why do you have a boomerang?" Lula asked Heidi, watching the woman spar Lisa with a long tree branches, "I've never seen anyone use a boomerang before."

Heidi paused in the little sparring match and looked down at the boomerang attached to her hip, "Oh, well, a close friend of mine gave it to me…"

"Oh, was it Jeanne?" Lula leered, watching Heidi's face flush from the question, "Was it?!"

"No, it was someone else, we traveled together for a bit, and then split," Heidi said, biting her lip, slipping the boomerang from the case, "it was a gift for my 16th birthday."

"16th?" Mary Alice chirped from above, "Are you sixteen?!"

"No, I'll have you know that I'm 18," Heidi said, her hands on her hips, looking up at Mary Alice, "I'll be 19 soon."

"Oh, was the person who gave you your boomerang your boyfriend?" Lisa asked, swinging her tree branch, "I think it's so sweet!"

Heidi's hand flew up to her face and she squeaked, "no, they were not my lovers!"

"Thou protest too much," Jeanne said, elbowing Heidi in the stomach, "I was sure-"

"Shut up!" Heidi yelped, swinging her boomerang around, "Do you want to see It in action or not?!"

"Yeah!" Mary Alice yelped, watching Heidi walk out into the middle of the field.

"What is that woman doing?" Tank asked, walking over to Lula and Jeanne.

"She's about to wow us," Jeanne said, shrugging her shoulders, "Seen it before, the first few times were alright, but then it gets to be over kill."

Heidi ran her hand slowly across the boomerang, watching as it glinted in the sunlight. She turned away from the group and said, "Please, watch the tree in front of us, if you please."

Lisa and Mary Alice leaned forward, watching as Heidi reeled the hand holding the boomerang back and swung her arm forward, making the item fly in the air. The group heard the boomerang make a loud hissing sound, it was as if it was cutting through the air, flying towards the tree that Heidi pointed out. Jeanne rolled her eyes as the group made loud sounds as the boomerang cut off one of the branches with ease, before swing in the air and coming back to where Heidi stood. Heidi had to run to catch it in between her hands.

"That was awesome!" Lisa shrieked, running over to Heidi, who slipped her boomerang back into its case, "I wanna learn how to use that!"

"I don't think so," Jeanne said, walking up to Lisa "Heidi's a trained professional, it takes years to learn that, let's go back to sparring with sticks, plus that damn thing has a blade on the curve!."

Lisa pouted but then ran back to her little sparring area with Jeanne. Heidi walked over to the rest of the group, a smile on her face.

"Where'd you learn how to use that thing?!" Lula asked, her eyes wide with awe, "Shit I've seen boomerangs before, but this takes the fucking cake!"

"Oh, my friend and natural instincts," Heidi said, before she looked up to Mary Alice and asked, "Where's your aunt and Ranger?"

"Oh, they went to take a bath together, and we all know what that means," Mary Alice said, sticking her tongue out, "That means they're having sex!"

"I don't want to hear that," Jeanne said, before Lester slid up beside her, a leer on his face.

"Sure you do, in fact, me and you should go and take a bath together," Lester said, watching Jeanne's face turn red with embarrassment, "It'll be fun!"

"I will end you, Santos, if you ever say something like that again!" Jeanne snapped, punching Lester in the stomach, "now, go pack up the cars, we should be moving out."

Lester gave Jeanne a watery eyed look, before he hobbled off to the cars. Heidi shook her head and said, "I'll get the love birds, you guys collect the children."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"It's okay, Ranger, my period ended two days ago," Stephanie whispered into Ranger's ear, before she let go of the man and made her way into the running stream, letting the water cool down her over heated skin.

"Babe," Ranger purred, grabbing at Stephanie, who let out a giggle and slipped away from his hands, "You're playing with fire."

"Well, maybe I want to get burnt," Stephanie said, finally letting Ranger catch her, pulling him into a heated kiss.

There was one good thing about the end of the modern world; Ranger wanted a relationship with Stephanie; they've never been closer. It started two months after the zombie outbreak, when Ranger confessed to Stephanie that they should get together, because they didn't know if they would die tonight, or tomorrow or whenever. Their feelings for one another were mutual, they each loved the other one dearly. Plus, it was good for them both, to have someone to rely on for a shoulder or hug, and it made the girls happy, knowing that Ranger and Auntie Stephanie were together.

Stephanie let out a whimper as Ranger latched his mouth on Stephanie's neck, her hips bucking up in pleasure. She gasped as he bit down on the column of skin, soothing the bite with gentle licks. Stephanie gripped Ranger's black locks, her back arching with pleasure.

Ranger let out a growl, lifting one of Stephanie's leg up, opening her up for him; foreplay be damned, they can explore one another later, right now, they both needed a good fucking. Ranger watched, with a satisfied smirk, as Stephanie's eyes widened with pleasure as he sank into her, the water lapping at their waist, creating a delicious sensation. Ranger slid out of her, before slamming back into her, causing Stephanie to cry out in bliss, her body jerking with each thrust.

"Dios babe, you feel so good around me, yeah, squeeze me tighter," Ranger growled into Stephanie's ear, as his hips snapped up against Stephanie's hips, "Dios you're driving me wild!"

Stephanie rotated her hips, moaning and crying out in bliss. She could feel her orgasm approaching, only Ranger had the power to make her cum with only his dick.

"I'm cumming, Ranger!" Stephanie said breathlessly, her hips snapping up, "Oh god, yes!"

Her orgasm hit her hard, spreading through every nerve, causing her toes to curl and her nails to scrap up and down Ranger's back.

Ranger let out a groan as he came deep inside of Stephanie, his hips jerking weakly as he did. They collapsed on the edge of the stream, breathing harshly. Stephanie let out a breathy giggle and said, "That was fun, we have to do that again, soon."

"Babe, you're playing with fire again," Ranger growled, nipping at Stephanie's ear, shifting his hips, making Stephanie moan in pleasure.

"Yeah, yeah," Heidi said, coming up to the couple, unheedful of their nudity, "Are you finish doing the deed, we ought to be-"

Heidi let out a yelp as something jumped on her. The stench of decaying flesh had Heidi guessing that it was a zombie on top of her. Heidi let out a shout, exclaiming, "Gross! Get off me!" struggling with the zombie.

By then, Ranger and Stephanie had tossed some clothes on, and Ranger had a gun aimed at Heidi and the zombie, he wanted to shoot, but with the way Heidi was flailing her arms and legs, he'd shoot the girl.

Heidi let out a cry of pain as teeth sunk into the juncture of her shoulder and neck. She turned her body around and shouted, "Ranger, shoot this fucker now!"

"Shoot it, Ranger!" Stephanie yelped, digging through the pile of clothing to find her own gun, "Shoot it!"

Ranger aimed for the zombie's head and fired once, killing it instantly. Heidi pushed the corpse off her and said, "Gross," placing her hand on her bleeding shoulder.

"You've been bitten," Ranger said softly, rushing over to Heidi, who shook her head and pushed him away, "You'll turn into one of them!"

"Get Jeanne," Heidi said, pressing harder against her wound, "Damn it! Go get Jeanne, now!"

Stephanie turned and ran up the trail to their campsite, calling out for Jeanne. Ranger placed a hand on Heidi, who hissed and pushed away from him.

"You're going to turn, Heidi, I've seen people turn into a zombie," Ranger said softly earning a snort from the girl.

"I'll be fine, Ranger," Heidi said, looking up as Jeanne and Stephanie came back, Jeanne holding her pack, "Jeanne, I've been bitten, I need some gauze."

"Shit," Jeanne said, going over to Heidi and pulling off the girl's flannel shirt. What Ranger and Stephanie saw had them shocked. Bite marks, all up and down the girls arm, it was as though she had tried to protect herself from a horde of zombies.

Jeanne turned to Stephanie and Ranger, cursed loudly and said, "Fuck me! They know now."

Heidi shrugged her shoulders and said, "They were bound to find out anyways," letting Jeanne wrap her wound, "As you can see, I have no worries about the zombies turning me into a zombie by their bites; I'm immune to their bites and saliva."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Project EVE was our breakthrough in finding out which DNA strand makes it possible for certain people to become unmentionables," A man's voice drifted into a jail cell, "With the knowledge we found out, we could now engineer powerful unmentionables and create an army that would make it possible for us to take over the planet."

"Fucking lunatics," The man in the cell sneered, earning a dark chuckle, "I hope you know what happens when you decide to play the role of the gods."

"Yes, well the outbreak of zombies was an unfortunate side-effect." The man said, with a sigh, "We did not mean to cause that, I did not know injecting people with Eve's blood would do that."

"Liar," the man said, earning a glare, "You did and then you got your goon Morelli to sic dozens of infected people in major cities! Now, my question is, why are you so concerned about Eve, you've done what you've wanted, why is she important now?"

"Because, out of all our subjects, she was the only one to survive, I would love to figure out how she survived, of course that means the total dissection of Eve herself, but it's all for power, you know-" The man started, but the other man in the cage snarled and said, "You touch her and I'll fucking rip you to shreds!"

"Oh, I didn't know creatures like you were capable of such emotions," the other man said with a chuckle, watching the caged man prowl the small diameter of the cell, "I assure you, if I find out how she survived the initial round of DNA manipulation, before I catch her, I'll be sure to let Eve live, but, I have successfully created another DNA manipulator, this one will totally change all the strands of DNA into something else, I'll be using It on Eve, there is no denying that. If you don't behave I'll use it on you, demon, now enjoy your stay, I have to go and get some man on the road, I want Eve soon."

The man in the cell smirked and said, "Have fun picking apart your men when Eve sends them back in pieces…."

"Oh Diesel, I doubt it," the man said, before walking off.

Diesel sighed and ran his hands over his face, "Please, please, don't come and get me, please, please!"

TBC….

(Reveiws are loved I love your feedback!)


	5. Messiah

Chapter 5, enjoy!

Disclaimers and warnings in the first chapter

Warning: Violence...

Chapter 5

_Messiah_

"Please, don't let the others know," Heidi said to Ranger, her hand on his shoulder, "I don't want them to know, the more people know about my secret, the more danger you all will be in."

"I think, Heidi," Ranger said leading Heidi away from the group, "We need to have a talk, a serious one."

"She doesn't need to talk to you," Jeanne said, getting up and pushing Ranger away from Heidi, "Don't you put a hand on her, you ass!"

"Jeanne," Heidi said in a soft voice, "calm down, let me go talk to the man, he's not going to hurt me."

"The hell he won't!" Jeanne said, pulling Heidi close to her, "I made a promise to some asshole to look over you, and I don't trust Manoso enough to leave you alone with him, now that he knows…I trust him less."

"I'm 18, Jeanne," Heidi said softly, prying her arm out of Jeanne's grasp, "I can take care of myself, I know he wants you to look over me, but, let me make my own choices."

Jeanne sighed and said, "I worry for you, kid, alright, but I'll be watching close by."

Heidi nodded her head and turned to Ranger, "Let's go talk," before walking ahead of Ranger.

"How are you immune from the zombies?" Ranger asked Heidi, who sat on a rock, looking up at Ranger, "I would ask what are you, but that would be inappropriate."

"I…I don't know," Heidi said softly, shrugging her shoulders, "I don't remember much, mind you, my friend told me that for most of my life I was inside an incubator, being shaped and molded into the perfect solider, he told me that there had been hundreds of people like me, but, they had all died, everyone of them but me. Maybe the reason why I can't be turned is because of what they've done to me."

"Who is your friend" Ranger asked Heidi, earning a small yelp from the woman, "Was he working for whomever created you?"

"No," Heidi said, shaking her head swiftly, "No, he saved me from a harsh future, I mean, though, at the point in my being rescued, the zombie outbreak had already begun. He was-no-he is a kind man, he taught me how to fight with weapons, and he taught me how to use my gifts."

"What kind of gifts?" Ranger asked, before earning a head shake from Heidi, "you can't tell me?"

"I won't tell you," Heidi said looking up at Ranger with determination, "It's between my friend and I."

"Where is your friend?" Ranger asked, watching Heidi shake, "he didn't leave you, did he?"

"No, they cornered us, looking for me, and that fool, he tossed me into the river we were close to, and got captured," Heidi said, looking up at Ranger, "He told me not to come after him, but I have to, I owe him so much."

"You're in love with him," Ranger stated, watching Heidi's eyes widen with horror, "And I get the feeling he's incredibly older than you."

"Only by a couple of decades," Heidi said softly, looking up at Ranger, "Please, don't tell anyone, especially Jeanne, she'll skin him alive, if she finds out what we've done together."

Ranger placed a hand on Heidi's shoulder, "Your secret's safe with me, all of your secrets are, Heidi, come on, I know the group is antsy to get on the road."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"This is freaking me out," Lula confessed, as they traveled down the road, "What's with all these….crosses?"

Stephanie let out a noise of agreement, looking at the crudely made crosses that littered the road. They had spent the past week traveling, and surviving. They were now somewhere close to the Midwest, maybe Illinois, or maybe somewhere further. The past half hour, the group kept passing crosses, each of the crosses had 'MESSIAH' written across them. It was freaky, and the closer they got to the little abandoned town, the more crosses they came across.

"Be on the lookout," Tank told Jeanne and Lester, earning head nods from the two, "I don't like the looks of this."

"Look, there's a sign," Mary Alice said, pointing to a crude sign on the side of the road, "What's it say? I hope it's a warning to get the heck out of here."

"No, it says; 'The second coming is approaching, the messiah will return to save us all," Lisa said, as they passed the sign, "What does that mean?"

"It means, there are some crazy people out there," Ranger said, as they made it to the outskirts of the town, "Alright, we'll scoop out the area, get some supplies and get the heck out of here."

"You, Heidi, come with me," Jeanne said, once Ranger parked on the edge of town, "We'll go ahead first, you guys watch our backs."

Heidi and Jeanne slid out the vehicle, walking into the small town. The town had once been pretty, but time and a zombie apocalypse had destroyed it. The roads were littered with cars, and tanks, the buildings were wrecked, the windows had been shattered, and door hung off the edges. Nature was reclaiming the town, Ivy grew on wooden houses and brick buildings, and grass had begun to grow in the cracks between the road.

Jeanne gave Heidi a look and said, "I think there's a market over here, we can scope it out, and see if there's something we can use."

Heidi nodded her head and followed Jeanne down a small road and over to a little supermarket. The store seemed to be in better shape, and all the two had to do was climb through the broken doors. Heidi let out a sound, taking off the flannel shirt she wore, "Shit, it's hot Jeanne, let's hurry this up, we'll find some stuff and go back and get the rest of the group."

Jeanne nodded her head, but paused, hearing something crunch against the floor of the ruined supermarket. She stopped Heidi and said, in a hiss, "Shh, something's out there….."

In the dark market, Heidi and Jeanne crept slowly to the area where they heard the sound, weapons drawn. They paused at a corner, and quickly jumped around it, only to receive a blast of bright white light. The two let out cries of shock, before something heavy hit their heads, knocking them out.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Do you see it?" An excited voice stated, drifting through Heidi's ears, "These are bite marks, from those creatures!"

"The prophet was correct, the Messiah has returned to earth, only they could be bitten by these creatures and live!"

"M-essiah?" Heidi moaned, blinking her eyes open, "Jeanne…Jeanne….."

"Calm down, Heidi," Jeanne's voice floated over to Heidi, "I'm right here, beside you."

Heidi turned her head, and with blurry vision, saw Jeanne sitting beside her, tied to the chair she was in. Heidi looked down and with a grunt, saw that she too was tied to a chair, her weapons gone. How long had they be out? Heidi couldn't tell, they were in a windowless room, in gods know what, Ranger and the group must be looking for them.

"The Messiah is awake!" A voice yelped with glee, "She's awake, she'll save us all!"

Heidi turned her head, seeing several people surrounding them. They all wore robes, which were course looking and black, with crosses painted red across the breast. Heidi turned to Jeanne and asked, "Who is their messiah?"

"You apparently," Jeanne said, snorting, "Heidi, you're not wearing your outer shirt, they can see the bite marks."

Heidi let out a sound as cold hands ran up and down her exposed bite marks, "The prophet said you would return, and now, you shall save us all, though this other woman, we can kill."

Heidi cried out as the group rushed over to Jeanne, one of the robed members took out a dagger. Jeanne grunted as her head was pulled back, exposing her neck. As the robed person made to slice Jeanne's neck open, Heidi let out a cry and said, "Stop! Stop it! As your Messiah, I order you to stop!"

Just like magic, the group went still, turning to Heidi who looked over to the group with wide eyes. Jeanne gave Heidi a pointed looked and said, "I am one of her disciples, will you kill one of the Messiah's students?"

"Forgive us," One of the robed people said quickly, bowing low, "Forgive us, Messiah, we did not know."

"Of course not, you've kidnapped your Messiah, and nearly kill one of her students, you should all be punished for your carelessness!" Heidi snapped, leaning back in the chair, "Now, untie me and my student."

"We cannot, Messiah," one of the robed figures said, earning a glare, "We must keep you like this, until we're ready to perform the ritual to rid the world of these man eating creatures."

"Ritual, what are you talking about?!" Jeanne exclaimed, shifting in her seat, "What are you going to do!"

"For god so loved the earth, that he gave his only begotten son…." One of the robed figure said, running a hand through Heidi's hair, "Sacrifice, Messiah, we shall sacrifice you, by burning you on the cross! It will purge the planet of these vile creatures!"

"You're crazy!" Heidi snapped, watching the group leave, "I'm not your Messiah!"

"Retrieve the Messiah's disciple, we shall find her a seat in the sanctuary, close to the alter."

"You leave me alone!" Jeanne snapped, as she forced up from her chair, being dragged out the room, "Heidi! I'll come and get you!"

"I'm not your Messiah!" Heidi screamed as the door to the room was closed and locked, "I'm not!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I think something went wrong," Stephanie said to Ranger softly, as they waited for Jeanne and Heidi, "They've been gone all day, they should have returned by now!"

"You're right beautiful," Lester said, pulling his gun out, "I don't want to sound like a pessimist, but I think they're in trouble."

"We'll go into town and look for them," Ranger said, grabbing his own gun, "You girl stay here."

"I think not!" Lula humph, pulling up her guns, "We go together, that way we all stay together!"

"Yeah, besides, we could be attacked and you all wouldn't be able to help us!" Mary Alice pouted, before she said, "We all go find Heidi and Jeanne."

"Yup, I ain't staying behind," Lisa chirped, before walking to the town, Mary Alice running behind her to follow.

"Sorry Ranger," Tank said, watching the group go into town, "You know how the womenfolk are…"

"Yeah, stubborn as mules," Ranger grunted, before the two men followed the group into town.

Stephanie looked over at the setting sun and said, "I can't believe they've been gone all day, I bet they've found food, and decided to horde it all for them those rat bastards."

Lisa shook her head and said, "They wouldn't do that! Not Heidi, at least, she told us that they would return, when they found supplies!"

"Or maybe they've abandoned us," Lula said softly, as they walked into town, "It's the only reasonable explanation."

"Or maybe you should all-"

Ding!

The group turned to the west of town and paused, hearing the bells ring again. Ranger turned to the group and said, "That sounded like church bells, there must be people over there, come on."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

It only took them a few minutes to walk over to where the church was, the strange about it, was in a decaying town, only the church seemed to be the only building that had yet to be ravage by nature. What was also strange were the crosses that covered the area, all of them hdthe word Messiah on them.

"Well, we know where all the crosses came from," Lester hummed, but paused and turned down the road, "Hey guys, something's coming, we need to hide."

Stephanie's eyes widen as a group of robed people went past their hiding place, all of them helping to carry a huge wooden cross up to the church. The hairs on Stephanie neck rose and she said, "I don't like the looks of this, what are they doing with that cross?"

"Maybe they're going to crucify someone," Lula said watching the robed group walk into the church, "I mean, that's what they do with crosses like that right?"

"Aw shit," Lester said, watching the church doors close, "Aw shit, shit, shit, they're going to crucify Jeanne!"

"I highly doubt that," Ranger said, turning to Lester, climbing out their hiding place, "Jeanne's couldn't possibly be a Messiah…"

"But…." Stephanie whispered in Ranger's ear, "Heidi could, remember?"

"Fuck," Ranger said, just as screams of agony filled the night sky, "They're going to kill Heidi."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Let me go!" Heidi cried out as she was dragged out the room she had been tied in, her frame forced up a flight of stairs, "No! I'm not your Messiah! Let me go! I don't want this!"

Heidi screamed and struggled as they tore her clothes off of her, placing what appeared to be a burlap sack on her. It was brown, and course, which made Heidi itch like the dickens. She gasped as something slick and cool was poured on her, when it touched her lips, she found it to be oil, they were putting oil on her, this wasn't happening, this wasn't happening!

"No!" Heidi screamed, as she was led into another room, this room must have been huge, because her voice echoed throughout it.

"Heidi!" Jeanne's voice echoed through the room, "Heidi! It's going to be okay! I'll get us out of this!"

Heidi let out a sound as the group began to pray loudly, leading her over to a large crude looking cross. What were they going to do to her?

Heidi cried out as she was forced onto the cross, her wrist tied to it as were her ankles. The group shifted and move and Heidi's eyes widen with horror as one robe figure came up holding a sledge hammer.

"No…please no…" Heidi said softly, watching the figure swing the sledge hammer up and bring it down, aiming for her ankles.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne let out a scream as Heidi's cries echoed through the church's sanctuary. She heard the bones break in Heidi's feet, making Jeanne wonder if she'd ever walk again after this. She watched with horror as the figure swung the sledge hammer up again, and bring it down on one of Heidi's delicate wrist, shattering it into uselessness. The screams Jeanne heard had her sobbing for her charge.

"Let her go!" Jeanne sobbed, struggling in her bonds, "Let her go!"

"The Messiah must suffer," A robe figured boomed over Heidi's cries, " Her suffering will save us all."

"You're fucking lunatics!" Jeanne shrieked, looking at the group, watching as Heidi's other wrist was shattered as well, "LET HER GO!"

Jeanne screamed and struggled in her chair, watching as three of the figure bought out nails, not the modern thin nails, but nails that reminded Jeanne of Railroad pegs. They were going to hammer Heidi's hands and ankles to that fucking cross!

Heidi's weak cries rose several octaves as the nails were forced into her hands and ankles. Jeanne closed her eyes and sobbed, shaking her head, hearing the cross make noises, as if it was being moved. Jeanne opened her eyes and watched as the robe figures placed the cross into a hole they made, causing it to stand upright, jarring Heidi, causing the girl to moan weakly, he head lolled to the side.

The group wasted no time, grabbing bundles of sticks and broken wooden furniture and tossing them around the cross. Oil was then placed on the on the wooden pile and the group began to pray, lighting a torch on fire, to burn the cross and Heidi. Jeanne began to kick the chair she was in trying to break free from it. Jeanne watched with horror as the wooden bundle caught on fire, smoke filling the sanctuary. Just as the wooden bundles caught on fire, the doors to the sanctuary caved in and Ranger and the group came rushing in.

"Jeanne," Lester said running over to the woman and untying her from the chair, "Are you okay?!"

"I am, but Heidi's not, we have to get her down!" Jeanne said pointing to the bundle of burning wood.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi let out a weak cough, as the smoke from the fire filled her vision and nose, the flames creeping up to the cross. She was in so much pain, she just wanted it all to go away. She vaguely heard the sounds of gunshots, and people calling her name, but soon, all she could hear was the roar of the fire. She could feel the heat of the flames, nipping at her feet, soon the flames would consume her alive. She didn't want to die, she wanted to live, to save the one who protected her, who loved her.

_Heidi let out a weak cry, turning her head and whimpering, "Help me….what should I do?"leaning forward in her bonds to think._

_"I don't like using the flames," Heidi said, softly, looking over to her friend, who was busy making them food, "Flames aren't supposed to be black, why are my flames black?"_

_"It's because you're powerful," Heidi's friend said, walking over to Heidi and pulling her into strong arms, "I know you don't like using them, Heidi, but it's there to protect you, it saved us both from the zombies, remember?"_

_"Yeah, but…it's so powerful," Heidi said, looking up into blue eyes, "I could have swallowed us both up in the flames!"_

_"You handled it pretty well," Heidi's friend chuckled, leaning down and kissing Heidi's cheek, "I know you'll be able to handle it, should you ever need to use it, don't be afraid of the flames, my dear, they'll protect you."_

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Ranger let out a sound, watching as the flames swept up quickly consuming the cross. Jeanne let out a scream, running over to the burning cross, but Lester caught her waist, holding her back.

"NO! I NEED TO GET HER!" Jeanne screamed, watching the cross burn, "I need to get Heidi!"

"Ranger, we have to do something," Stephanie cried out, grabbing Ranger's arm, "Please! Let us do something!"

Mary Alice's eyes widen as she watched as the bottom of the flames seemed to melt into black flames, "Auntie Stephanie! Ranger….the flames, they're black, why are they black!?"

Jeanne let out a small gasp, watching as the flames began to darken, she had seen this once but…"We need to get out of here now, we need to clear the town!"

"Why," Lula asked, watching Jeanne turn and run out the doors of the church, "What's going on here?!"

"Run!" Jeanne snapped, pointing to the flames, "You better fucking run, if you want to live!"

The group followed behind Jeanne, who led them out the town, leading them up the hill over the small town.

"Why did we have to leave-" Lisa asked, before black flames erupted from the church, consuming everything in its path. The group watched with horror, as the town was consumed in the black flames. As fast the flames left as quickly as they came, leaving nothing but a smoldering flatten area in its wake.

Jeanne let out a sound and said, "Come on, let's go get the girl," before she began the trek down the hill, going to the town.

"Heidi couldn't be alive, she couldn't have lived through that!" Lula said to Tank, as they followed Jeanne.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I've found her," Tank said, standing close to a pile of burnt bricks, his eyes cut, "Here she is, Jeanne."

"Oh thank god," Jeanne said, going over to where Tank stood, Heidi's sword and boomerang attached to her back, "Shit, we're going to have to put her ankles and hands in splits."

Jeanne slipped off her pack and pulled out a blanket, saying, "Tank, pick her up, but be careful, she might be hot still."

Tank gently lifted Heidi's nude form up, finding that Jeanne had been right, Heidi's skin was over heated, and in the night heat, it made Tank sweat a bit. Jeanne tossed the blanket over Heidi's nude form, and said, "We'll tend to her while she's still knocked out, that way she won't feel much."

Jeanne and Tank walked past the rest of the group, making their way to their vehicle. Stephanie grabbed Ranger's hand and said, "How did she survive that fire?"

"Secrets," Ranger said before the group followed Jeanne and Tank out of the ruined town.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"There's been a wave of activity in the western part of Illinois," A man said softly, looking down at the device in his hand, "It has Eve's signature written all over it, send the men out there, whoever gets in our way kill them."

Diesel shook his head, watching as the man chuckled darkly, turning to him, a smile on his face.

"I'll have Eve soon, I'll be sure to put her in the cell right beside you, it's only fitting that the love bird spend their time together before they're split apart."

Diesel shook his head and said, "Good luck, she's probably long gone from that area, I know my girl, she's slippery as an eel."

"Morelli will lead the group to find Eve, I hope he has fun with Eve before he brings her in…" The man said before walking off, leaving Diesel to growl and hiss in rage.

TBC…

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! ]:U)


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